1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed to apparatus for removing animal waste from a container and for removing clumped waste-litter agglomerates from a litter mass and, in one aspect, to such apparatus with an open end to facilitate emplacement in a litter mass.
2. Description of Related Art
The prior art reveals a variety of animal litter substances which agglomerate or "clump up" when contacted by animal waste, e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 5,101,771 discloses such substances. The prior art also discloses a variety of containers for such animal litter substances and litter boxes; e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,325,822; 5,012,765; 4,615,300; 4,217,857; 4,312,295; 5,158,042; 5,320,064; 4,771,731; 5,220,886; 4,505,226; 4,832,228; 4,553,621.
A problem is encountered in the removal of the clumped-up litter/waste agglomerate from the remainder of un-agglomerated material. One method of dealing with the problem is simply the wasteful disposal of all of the material. Another solution involves scooping out the clumped-up litter/waste agglomerate, e.g. with a shovel or other implement, but this can also result in the considerable waste of un-agglomerated material. Another problem is the difficulty encountered in emplacing a box or screen into a mass of litter.
There has long been a need for an effective and efficient apparatus for removing animal waste from a container and for removing clumped-up litter/waste agglomerate from a mass of clumping litter material. There has long been a need for such apparatus which is easily emplaceable in such a mass of litter material.